Kerala: V D Satheesan-led opposition enacting role of Shikhandi, says V Muraleedharan

KOZHIKODE: Union minister of state (external affairs) V Muraleedharan alleged on Friday that the V D Satheesan-led opposition was enacting that role 'Shikhandi' in the rift between the government and the governor.
Addressing the media in Kozhikode, he claimed that the chief minister was making the opposition leader raise the demand for the resignation of the governor as he would have felt it embarrassing to raise the demand himself. Muraleedharan said that the opposition leader was attacking the governor on a daily basis even as the chief minister was unable to give a reply to the multiple issues raised by the governor.
On the K-Rail issue, Muraleedharan said the chief minister was resorting to addressing a captive audience in the name of public interactions about the project.
"Instead of addressing the people who will not pose questions before him, he should have come forward to discuss the project with the office-bearers of the action committees comprising people who are affected by the project. He should realize that the people of the state can see through this drama," he said.
Muraleedharan added that the decision of the state government not to release the DPR of the project was mysterious. "It has been reported that the Union railway ministry has made it clear that it will not bear the loan liability for the project. What is happening now is just the laying of boundary stones for real estate interests. Nobody will be able to implement a project by disregarding the protests of the people," he said.
He said that while BJP was of the view that there should be facilities to enable fast movement of people within the state, it should not be done by displacing tens of thousands of people at a huge environmental cost.